#AND i have gained almost 50 followers in a week

[where-is-ezra]

can i be real. im specifically not reblogging posts because of the ad campaign to get more followers you add to the end of them

Damn that’s crazy….

[larkspur-collective]

I did not want to do this, but... we really need a miracle.

We really need help relocating to WA!

Details are under the cut. This post mentions abuse, briefly touches on alcoholism, and discusses extreme poverty and unsanitary conditions. The short version is we need enough money for a plane ticket to Washington State, and fast.

We need help with our $300 plane ticket, some for food until we sort out foodstamps, & at least $100 to keep our phone on until we can find work.

We've been locked out of our GoFundMe account, and to be truthful I don't see one being very effective, so- our cashapp is $LarkspurWoods & our paypal is @KaiThePotatoChip [long story, don't ask lol]

Anything helps!

Goal progress: $0/600

Our Story

We are currently stuck off-grid in Missouri without a way out.

We moved out here to meet & stay with our dad, who is terminally ill, after being kicked out of our mom's in September. Turns out he's got next to nothing, we're all cramped in a single, disgusting RV [4 of us, not counting our aunt and uncle], and we've lost more than we've gained since being out here.

We were promised before our arrival that we would be able to earn an income out here, & have been unable to aside from just enough to pay our phone bill.

This inability to work has been due largely to all the vehicles our dad's family owns having broken down shortly after our arrival, as well as not having [& not being taught!] many useful skills for this lifestyle.

We don't have reliable internet or a way to seek remote work, either.

We haven't been able to do even basic things like take care of personal hygiene out here. We feel absolutely disgusting. We hate living this way.

We were supposed to get food stamps & our wisdom teeth out, but we can't...

Our father owes us money for the several weeks we have spent splitting wood for him, & has failed to deliver.

There is usually barely enough to eat, as well.

On top of all this, his sister and her husband are ignorant, bigoted, criminally violent alcoholics. They have near-daily instigated arguing and fighting since they arrived a day after we did.

Occasionally there are "good days." On one such day, November 25th, we ended up accidentally having an [attempted civil] discussion about intersex people and advanced biology in which we tried to inform them their worldview was outdated, got shut down, and then mentioned how we felt disrespected- they ended up heated and we walked away from them. they followed us, assaulted us, and their dog bit us 3 times on our ass, left arm, & face.

In addition, we have received multiple thinly veiled death threats when they're upset.

We called the sheriff, and they did nothing.

When our aunt and uncle are sober, they're not as volatile, although still incredibly emotionally abusive, prone to gaslighting, and manipulative.

We do not feel safe here, especially not as they have made it clear they have no intention of leaving anytime soon.

We have several friends and family members in the Oregon-Washington area, as well as a long-distance partner whom we've been dying to see for over a year. Our father promised to assist us with funding a trip to see them and, again, has failed to deliver.

We have been given explicit permission by several people, including our partner's family, that we have a place to stay out there, but we can't afford the plane ticket. after almost 2 months of working, we have only $50 to show for it.

We want desperately to see our partner for the holiday season and to escape our unsafe environment, and it feels like the entire world is against us right now.

We've spent weeks monitoring plane ticket prices, and the lowest is about ~$300 right now counting baggage fees.

We don't even have food money, let alone cash to get any gift for our s/o...

We've talked with a family member & they've offered to help us with getting a job as much as they can, but it's remote, and again we're off grid and don't always have gas to power the generator.

I am BEGGING anyone who has taken the time to read this to help us in some fashion.

We need help with our $300 plane ticket, some for food until we sort out foodstamps, & at least $100 to keep our phone on til we can work.

We can't promise much due to our shitty circumstances, but anything that we can do to assist or return the help we will do- we dabble with art, graphic design, music production, & video editing if people need help. We edit picrews and like making phone wallpapers as well. Just ask, and we'll try our best to do it.

This society has failed us severely. We want to make something more of ourself- we just really need some help.

Thank you to any and all for reading this, and we thank you even more if you decide to help.

[misslisamiray]

Something I've been thinking about that I never see brought up: We all know Morty saw Rick's whole crybaby backstory in the S5 finale... but Jerry has seen as much, if not more, of Rick's memory. Of what he's seen, how much does he remember?

The two have been merged in some way twice now, first in S3 ep 5, "The Whirly-Dirly Conspiracy", and more recently in S7 ep 2, "The Jerrick Trap". There have to be some lingering effects from that, right?

More below the cut, and I warn you, this gets LONG.

Maybe Jerry wouldn't necessarily remember anything from that first encounter where his consciousness, Rick's, and that of the large alien trying to kill them were all intertwined - the "I just spent an eternity merged with your essence and I'm already back to thinking you're an asshole" line implies the effects of said merging wear off quickly. So, any memories/knowledge gained then might also fade away fast. But even if he forgot almost instantly, Jerry has to have seen Rick's past (a full two seasons before Morty did!)

Now... The Jerrick Trap is where this gets interesting. Rick and Jerry spent days - maybe weeks - with their minds shuffled as Burger and Fries. Followed by at least a full day as Jerricky. While it's questionable, even unlikely, the events in Whirly-Dirly had lasting effects, there is no way, after all that, these two don't know EVERYTHING about each other.

Of course, there's, I'd say, a 50/50 chance Rick erased Jerry's memories of the entire incident, specifically because of that. He let Morty see the crybaby backstory, and Summer & the Beths have at least some vague knowledge of Prime. But I can see him drawing the line at Jerry just... being able to see all those memories as clearly as Rick himself can.

Which brings us to: Memory Rick! (and something else I never see brought up). Even if Jerry doesn't share Rick's memories for any other reason, would he automatically have them through Memory Rick being marooned in his brain? I'm thinking yes, but since Memory Rick is sentient, he *might* be able to block Jerry from accessing them.

Anyway, if Jerry has retained any of Rick's memories, I really hope the show addresses it at some point. It's actually one of my most-hoped-for-in-the-remaining-seasons things.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. I am sorry this post got so long, and if you are seeing this, thank you for reading my essay. 😅

[passionwillow]

Deacon x Male Reader Headcanons

Hi guys! I wanna apologize for how long this took. I wanted to make sure I did it justice, and I apologize if I didn't! I don't write much x male reader things so this is a little new. No warnings, just pining and some angst.

When Deacon divorced Annie he had no plans of remarrying or finding someone else. He just wanted to focus on the kids.

But when you joined SWAT and 50-David, and he laid eyes on you that first day, something new in him stirred.

He'd always ignored the fact he found some men attractive. He pushed it so far down he hadn't really thought of it in years, just focused on work and Annie and the kids.

But you.. Oh, he couldn't get you out of his mind.

He avoided you for a while. Kept his distance, polite greetings and goodbyes as he struggled with the internal battle.

How would he explain this to his kids, his coworkers, if something bloomed between you both? Would they judge him, look at him differently?

It all came to a head when Luca called out sick one day and you stepped in on 20-David. He had to talk to you, work with you throughout the day, sit and have lunch.

You were funny and witty, everyone on their toes and laughing when you were around. It made Deacon's skin light ablaze and his gut knot up.

Luca was going to be out for a week, it turned out, and you were happy to step in and work with a different team. Gaining new experience was always a positive thing, definitely didn’t have anything to do with the silver fox.

But this just made it even harder for Deacon to avoid his feelings.

The way you joked and made light of difficult situations, but also faced them head on without flinching. The way your mouth curled as you tried not to laugh and failed. The way you willingly jumped into danger and the skills you had to handle it.. He was head over heels and he knew he had to do something.

One night after work he approached you, trying to stay calm and cool but fumbling over his words like a teenager as he asked you out for drinks.

You were quick to agree, quick to grin at his smile and the way he ducked his head, following him out of the locker room.

The next few hours were some of the best that Deacon had over the past few months. The way you listened and laughed at his corny jokes, the way you willingly opened up about much of the difficult things you were facing.. He was smitten.

He couldn’t help the floodgates from opening as he discussed Annie and the divorce, the money troubles he was having.. But you didn’t judge. Didn’t pry for more information than he offered. And he appreciated it.

It was almost midnight before either of you bothered to look at a phone, and each of you cursed as you gathered your things, Deacon promising to see you tomorrow.

You couldn’t just leave, though, at least that’s what your brain told you. So you kissed him on the cheek before dipping out the door, noting the slack jaw and pink cheeks.

The next few months were a blur. Working together, sharing drinks and kisses, and making things official.

Deacons kids seemed fine with the whole arrangement, and no one in SWAT was surprised.

The way you two had circled and glanced at each other had answered most of the questions anyone had. And everyone thought you both were perfect. ♥️

[keplercryptids]

I know this was posted like. a week ago. but as someone thinking of running a forged in the dark game I would love to see your homebrew xp mechanics

hell yeah! so let me start by saying, forged in the dark games (at least, the two i've played, blades in the dark and scum and villainy) are designed to be run either 1. in campaigns with a maximum of 12-20 sessions, OR 2. in campaigns where you're running through characters frequently and telling a story of the crew as a collective, rather than focused on a specific group of characters. so if you do either of those things, i don't think you actually need to tweak the xp.

i am a longwinded bitch lmao and i also prefer running campaigns that don't switch out PCs often. so the rapid xp acquisition of these games is. troublesome. i've actually very recently decided to simply hand out milestone xp (which is what i did when i ran d&d 5e). basically, every few jobs, when something narratively Big happens, i'll give the players [x] amount of xp. but! i did come up with these narrative xp rules, which i like and i'm having fun with, so for now, any xp the players accrue by making desperate rolls will be added to their narrative xp bank to spend in the following ways:

(under a readmore cuz it's long!)

Narrative XP

At the end of each job, the maximum amount of XP that can be used for character advancement is 50% of the XP gained that session, rounding up. This is called Advancement XP. The remaining XP is called Narrative XP.

When Narrative XP is spent to increase or reduce a clock, 1 XP = 1 tick. Personal Narrative XP can be spent on campaign clocks, personal clocks, connection clocks, long-term projects or resolving traumas, as described below. With the exception of campaign clocks, any given clock can only be affected by 1 Narrative XP, per player per session.

At a player’s discretion, Character Advancement XP may be spent as Narrative XP, with the same restrictions as above.

CAMPAIGN CLOCKS

Throughout the campaign, there will be clocks tracking organizations’ goals, external forces outside the scope of the PCs’ sphere of influence, or events looming on the horizon. During downtime, these clocks can be increased or reduced by the use of Narrative XP. This is almost always going to be a meta decision made by the players and GM, rather than anything the PCs are doing within the fiction (though there may be some exceptions - talk it out!). The progress of campaign clocks can also be leveraged as Devil’s Bargains during play. There is no limit to how much XP can be spent on a campaign clock per downtime.

PERSONAL CLOCKS

Each PC can accrue personal clocks, tracked on your character sheet, that reflect potential complications, goals, or outcomes affecting your character. During downtime, Narrative XP can be used to increase or reduce ticks on these clocks (maximum 1 XP per clock per downtime). To use Narrative XP this way, describe or roleplay a scene to illustrate what your character is doing to affect the clock in question.

CONNECTION CLOCKS

[note: this text is taken basically word-for-word from Beam Saber by austin ramsay - a really cool game i haven't gotten to run yet! check out beam saber if you're interested in sci-fi forged in the dark games!]

The crew sheet contains separate 4-tick Connection Clocks for each other member in your crew, representing your character’s relationship with that crewmate. Make a belief about that crewmate for each tick on that clock (checking in with that player when you do). When the Connection Clock fills, ask the target crewmate for a truth about one of the beliefs tied to them, then reset the clock to 1 tick as you see them in a new light. When a Connection Clock resets, erase all the previous beliefs you had about that crewmate and write a new one related to the truth you just learned—it’ll take time and effort to understand them again.

A belief is a brief statement about how a character feels about another crewmate. Beliefs are simple, quick, and influential in the rapport between the two crewmates. However, the players need to remember that their beliefs are not necessarily true as they are based on incomplete information and gut instinct. A good belief is:

Something a character might say about their crewmate to a confidante.

Easily summarized, so that it can be quickly remembered when relevant.

Potentially true.

Suitable for the game’s setting and tone.

Something the player is interested in exploring.

During downtime or free play, Narrative XP can be used to add a belief and tick a Connection Clock with another crewmate (maximum once per session). To use Narrative XP this way, your character must have a one-on-one scene with a crewmate, which challenges their perception of their crewmate, and/or shows a new side of them, and/or during which the characters bond in a significant way. After this, spend 1 XP to tick the Connection clock with that character, and gain a new belief (see above).

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

During downtime, you may spend 1 XP to add a tick to a long-term project clock (maximum 1 tick per clock).

RESOLVING TRAUMAS

[note: there isn't a way in the rules as written to resolve traumas, but being able to do so is important to me, so i included this as a way to use narrative xp.]

When you gain a trauma, start a 6-tick Trauma clock on your character sheet. During downtime or free play, Narrative XP can be used to tick a Trauma clock (maximum once per session). To use Narrative XP this way, describe or roleplay a scene to illustrate what your character is doing to work on resolving their trauma. Once a trauma clock has been filled, you may remove that trauma from your character sheet.

[fatbellyboysstuff]

End of Year Reflections

For me New Years Eve doesn't just mark the begin of a new year, it's also (almost) the anniversary of the beginning of my intentional weight gain journey.

In December of 2022 I was at my lowest weight in years- 185 lbs, down from about 195 earlier in the year. I unintentionally lost some weight towards the end of the year and even though I received a lot of positive comments for it, it didn't feel right. I can so clearly remember laying in bed after Christmas dinner, rubbing my belly, feeling too small. there wasn't enough fat on my stomach, I wasn't soft enough, it didn't feel like me. I decided then and there that I would try and gain some weight back in the new year.

My first real stuffing ever was during the first week of January, the first night I was back at my place. it felt so good to pig out like that, to let loose a bit, I did it again just a couple nights later. I gained back the 10lbs I lost in just a couple of weeks. Around April 2023 I set my weight goal to 200 lbs.

Over the course of 2023 I tried to be careful. I only allowed myself to really stuff my belly once a month, maybe twice. I wanted to gain weight, but I was scared. I went back and forth on wanting to gain weight, posting here every so often and then feeling ashamed just a few days later. I needed to feel like I was in control of my gain, feeling like I could go back if I wanted to. but I also spent the year working through internalized fatphobia, reflecting on growing up fat while also having this kink and setting boundaries with my loved ones regarding my body.

despite my initial caution I ended the year 2023 at 210 lbs, already 10lbs heavier than my initial goal weight. in December of 2023 I also finally started Testosterone.

In 2023 I was scared, in 2024 I got confident and determined. In April I did a little challenge for myself- trying to eat at least 4k calories every day for a week. that week was a turning point for me. my appetite went up, I started gaining consistently and at the end of May I hit 220 lbs for the first time. Finally, 100 kg, reaching triple digits. I always planned to take a break once I hit 220, see how I feel, take it a bit slower for a while. but seeing those three digits on my scale for the first time made me ecstatic, I wanted to keep going... and to be honest with myself, I don't think I could have taken a break then. I gained another 11lbs over the next 10 weeks and lost them all at the end of August when I was on vacation with my family. that vacation, that weight loss, showed me once again- I want to be fat. I want to be fatter. Since September this year I've been going all in.

All the caution and control of 2023 is gone. I have gained 15lbs since the beginning of September. I have lost control over my eating and my gaining completely. and I didn't just loose that control, I gave it up. I finally let myself give in to being fat, give in to getting as fat as I want.

I go into 2025 sitting firmly at 235lbs. I have shifted my weight goal to 260lbs next. I want to spend 2025 enjoying tasty food, indulging in my favorite treats and growing my body further into my vision of myself.

thank you everyone for following my little journey, for encouraging me and for the great conversations I've had on here. I hope to build up new connections on here in 2025, because this community truly is such a positive force in my life. thank you all for being here, I hope the new year will treat you all kindly! 🩵

lastly: these pictures were taken almost exactly two years apart. 185 -> 235 lbs. 50 pound of fat added to my body. here's to the next however many pounds that'll be added this year! 🎉

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Thinking about a couple things I've read in the last week or so and connecting some dots (maybe?)

The way online fandoms used to be what we would consider tiny. Like, 50-100 people. Gaining 10 friends/followers was an event.

Dunbar's Number, aka the number of people humans can feasibly hold in a single community and know each other personally and not need an actual communal structure to hold the community together

Nowadays, 10 followers isn't considered much because even smaller fandoms tend to have a few hundred people floating around. And those 10 people are liable to be lurkers in a way they probably weren't.

Anyway, as fandom's numbers exploded with new social chambers and larger numbers of people gaining online access and entering social communities, etc, etc, etc, no social structure was ever enacted, because people didn't think they needed it because fandom was basically just a friend group, yeah? Except you can't have a friend group of 2,000 people. You almost certainly can't even know them all.

Social structures feel somewhat antithetical to the concept of a fandom

But without that, at the sizes the fandoms are these days, any sense of community has completely broken down because there's just too many people for humans to actually interact with and know.

Because people are not emotionally invested in a community and other people, there's less interaction/less comments/more lurking, because it's not a community people are participating in, it's just stuff that's there.

And, small numbers of interactions mean less to people, because with an absence of meaningful interaction, it's just a number you'd like to go higher, like billionaires with their bank accounts, because there's so little meaning to much of it.

I have no idea how to fix any of this, or even if I'm right about any of it. It's just something that's occurred to me.

[sterekchub]

Jock Derek decides to get into the competitive eating game. Starts a YouTube channel. Gets some fans, who suggest crazy eating challenges. Derek keeps pushing himself to fulfill all the ridiculous challenges, but his stomach is so stretched out that he’s hungry all the time. Starts gaining weight. Slowly, his eating challenges videos just become mukbangs as Derek goes from jock to exjock to chub…and eventually Derek starts showing off his growing belly as he goes from chub to just huge fatty.

"W-Welcome ...*BBBRRRpp*... to Eatin' ...*blurrrRPPP*... w-with ...*BRRRPPpp*... Derek

10 Viewers "Hey...I'm Derek. I twisted my ankle during practice so the Coach benched me for the semester and if I don't play, I don't get money towards my tuition. So umm....I'm not sure how this works but my friend makes money gaming on his channel so I thought maybe....I'd start reviewing local restaurants or campus food or something."

You turn off the chat, disinterested. There's enough bad food ASMR and mukbangers online, he's attractive, but nothing special. You have better things to do than watch him fumble his way to unwrapping a Chipotle takeout bag like it was something special.

50 Viewers You find yourself back on Derek's channel a week later. He still looks uncomfortable in front of a camera. His room isn't even set up to stream, a bunch of random lights behind him and his dinner clearly on the desk next to him, 2 liter of soda and some Pop-Tart boxes. You're about to click away when the otherwise dead-chat pings:

Try the 2L soda challenge!

Derek nods and brings the soda bottle up to his lips. "Easy," he brags, suddenly much more confident and you get the aura of a cocky, self-assured jock. He chugs the entire bottle down within 2 minutes, waving the empty bottle in front of the screen and letting out a long burp. "Done. Damn, I need some pizza after that..."

He goes back to sitting there in mostly awkward silence as he scrolls on his phone, clearly ordering food. You leave the stream again. 200 Viewers You can't help it - you check back into Derek's stream. He's gained more followers in the last few weeks since you saw him and you see the last few videos he's posted all see to have a theme - Eating Challenges with Derek.

Looks like he's been eating well. There's more softness to his jaw and cheeks and the sports T-shirt he's wearing looks stretched a little tight.

"Tonight I'm trying the milk chugging challenge - one gallon in one hour."

The chat is more active than usual.

Got Oreos to go with that?

Derek holds up 3 boxes "not going to get through all that milk without them."

Gotta love jocks who eat like they're still training

if he pukes, I'm leaving

Bet he's done this before

Derek finishes 2 boxes of oreos and the entire gallon of milk, ending the stream reclining in his chair looking satisfied, hands rubbing his milk-swollen gut.

500 Viewers Derek has become your new favorite streamer. You're not sure if he knows the chat is entirely full of feeders egging him on, but he clearly loves the attention and is willing to do almost anything for donations.

"Thank you to *feedemup72* for the donation, tonight's challenge is $100 at Taco Bell." He points at several bags sitting next to him. "Actually $108 because I got 3 sodas, hope you don't mind."

Only his top half is visible as his streams, but in the last few months he's developed a curve to his belly that presses into his computer desk.

damn he's gotten fat in a few months

ii hope he does the donut challenge next

Derek slows down when he's three quarters of the way through. He shoves the last bite of a burrito into his mouth and groans. "Don't think I can do this one." He's got rice spilled onto the front of his shirt, and a few inches of bare, furry belly are visible where his bloated stomach is pushing his shirt upwards.

You're feeling reckless and type into the chat '$20 if you can finish 3 more burritos." You can see the determination as he leans forward to grab another from the pile, like it's the winning point his team needs. "Uggh I might burst..."

1000 Viewers "I'm getting a little chunky," Derek laughs, standing up in front of his computer with both hands lifting up his pudgy middle. It's not only his middle that has gotten thicker. His jeans look painted on and his shirt is so tight you can see the lovehandles just starting to poke out over his jeans. "Hope the coach doesn't mind. Got my clear bill of health for my leg so practice starts again tomorrow." are you still going to stream? Sure the coach won't mind you waddling on the field? forget sports, fatboy, you were made to eat! "This might be my last one in a while, practice keeps me busy. But for my last challenge- I got a cake to celebrate!" It's just a plain cheesecake, but Derek looks at it like it's better than sex. The little groans of pleasure he makes when he takes a bite somehow feel dirtier than watching him devour the entire thing in under 45 minutes. 3,000 Viewers It's been almost 6 months since Derek's last stream and you've almost forgotten about his channel entirely when you see he's gone live again. His follower count has almost triple and the chat is swarming with excitement at his return. OMG finally he's got to be 300 by now has he said anything no he's been eating for almost an hour! Think he knows he's live? Are you okay? You can't take your eyes off the screen. Derek has Chinese takeout containers in front of the screen and is digging into them like he hasn't eaten for months. The arms on his gamer chair are no longer visible under hefty love handles and his belly is fully resting into his lap by several inches. Derek keeps eating, double chin wobbling with each fast-paced bite, until he finally stops to reach for a can of soda. He drains it in one go and then looks at the chat, still shoveling food in his mouth as he talks "c-coach ...*mnfgghhhulp*... kicked ...*mmnnch*... me ...*chew... o-off ...*nibble*... de ...*gnaw*... team." I'm sorry too fat for the team? Look at him- he's not running anywhere! He hasn't stop eating What a fucking pig You have to know, typing in the chat. "$50 if you tell us what you're weighing in at." You watch as Derek scans the chat and reads your message. He finally puts down the food and stands up to show himself off to he chat. "Three-twenty-seven." From the size of his hips and ass as he turns, you would have guessed closer to 350. He looks upset, pinching and grabbing at the excess blubber that's thickened him up everywhere, but when he sits back down and grabs another soda, he almost looks relieved. "So.. guess I'm back to streaming. Any suggestions for another *gulp* *swallow* food challenge? 5,000 Viewers Doesn't look like a jock anymore he's a fucking blimp any ideas how to blow him up more bet he'd eat straight lard if we paid him fuck look at that gut Did he really just fall asleep? bet he wakes up and starts eating again You're $500 poorer- but looking at the size of Derek, it seems like money well spent. In the last three months, you've paid Derek to do the ice cream gallon challenge, the milkshake challenge, the donuts-burger challenge, and the carbo-load challenge. And you were also to blame for the current stream. Tonight had proven too much even for his monstrous appetite and he had needed a break, too full to even speak, just sitting in front of the computer groaning and grunting and burping, rubbing his boulder of a belly until his overstuffed moans had turned into tree-splitting levels of snoring. The last quarter of his fifth footlong cheesesteak (With extra cheese and meat of course), fell out of a pudgy hand and onto the floor. Derek had weighed in at 398 last night, and you impatiently wait for him to wake up rounding out the scales at over 400lbs of blubber. 10,000 Viewers

This stream was a special one. Derek had tipped the scales at a whopping 500lbs, reluctantly heaving himself out of his bench-sized seat to show off for the chat just where all of those pounds had piled on to. Face swollen with fat, his jawline completely obscured by chins and a tire-sized neck. Thighs wider than his former waist, and of course, the unmistakable belly which was not so round and lard-filled it rested on his knees when he was sitting. "Finally hit a follower milestone," Derek wheezed proudly, wiping sweat off his forehead from the exertion of just standing for several minutes and then collapsing back down into his seat. It creaked ominously. On instinct, you check his Amazon wishlist. Candy, funnel, XXXXXXXXL shorts, more candy, bariatric scale...huh. No bench. Guess he thought the one hw as currently straining was going to last longer than it sounded like. "So someone sponsored to me to eat a hundred-thousand calories, one for each follower!" You thought you misheard. 100,000? That can't possible be right. And Derek was popular sure, but with a niche group. You double-check and his follower count was sitting at 10,002. Confused, you check the chat. did he say 100,000!!? looking and thinking like a pig no one said jocks were smart That's going to take days think he'll realize? too late to back out, he took the money That's like 30 pounds of calories. No way is he going to do it! Derek was reading the chat and checking his phone in confusion. "I did...misread a bit there." Do it eat it 100,000 blimp he's gonna pop come on fatty, EAT EAT EAT! Derek still looks confused, but puts his phone away and smacks a hand to his belly. "I can handle it. Better start now..." You can't watch the entire stream, having to pull yourself away at some point to go to bed and go to work. You haven't missed much - Derek sits at his computer, struggling to his feet every few hours to get his latest food delivery he doesn't bother to turn off the livestream and everyone gets' a perfect view of Derek's swinging, wobbling obese frame as he slowly shuffles in and out of view. Even at night, he waddles out of view to go to bed but leaves the stream running, his snores rattling around the empty room and the only view the staggering amount of fast food containers thrown haphazardly everywhere. Think he'll reach 600? he's too fat to stop now he should eat like this all the time It takes Derek 2 days to eat it all. Even for someone used to all the eating challenges, Derek was eating with a frenzy and a determination you'd never seen. The chat kept his calorie counter for him, and he was absolutely struggling to keep on pace, looking like every bite was a Herculean effort. You tune back in, the afternoon when Derek is down to his last 2,000 calories in a bag of greasy burgers and fries and milkshakes. He looks bloated and fat in a way you've never seen, like at any minute he was going to just start expanding and become a fat filled-balloon the size of the room. His body was clearly protesting, Derek had to keep taking longer and longer breaks inbetween to massage his belly, although he couldn't fully reach around it. Gurgling farts and thunderous belches that chat kept telling him meant he had room for more. 100,000 calories. Almost done. Just a few more... Derek guzzled down the rest of his milkshake and looked triumphantly at his camera, eyes glazed over and face smeared with food.

T-Told ...*puff*... ...*BRRPFFBLTTT*... you ...*uhhnngh*... ...*thbbbt*... I ...*hmphhh*... ...*Brrbllpfft*... c-could ...*blurrRRPPP*... ...*Splrrpffrtbtlt*... do ...*BRRRPPphh*... ...*Frrrpffltbtt*... it.

[sotwk]

hello there! i'm curious: how many asks do you think you receive in a week?

Hello Anon!

It fluctuates by quite a lot! Ever since my blog gained a decent following about a year ago, the longest I have gone without receiving a single Ask was probably two weeks. But when I host an event which invites requests/asks (rare), a mini-flood comes in; my last event pulled almost 50 Asks! When I reblog an Ask Game (which isn't often), my lovely Moots always come through, and I get at least 5 or so Asks.

If I had to guestimate, I would say I average receiving about 3 Asks per week. All credit goes to the awesome and thoughtful Mutuals, Anons, and Followers I have--like you! :)

I'm also terribly slow at answering my Asks, even though I'm committed to getting around to all of them. So more credit goes to my friends for not losing patience or faith in me! :)

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

What's Up

Hello 50-odd followers I've gained in the last two weeks! You may have signed up for the Starkid content, but surprise! You also get me writing a full-ass response to the latest episode of Shipwrecked's The Case of the Greater Gatsby every week! If you haven't listened to it, please it give it a try. It's a hoot and two halves!

As ever, spoilers for Episode 11 (already??) under the cut.

First of all, I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE TAPES! This was a fairly basic thing to be right about, but seeing as there really are so many threads (lmao that SONG) complicating this story, I'm going to take the victories I can get. And we can't say it wasn't fun listening to Fig repeatedly fail at the not-so-simple task of getting Sheila to leave her own living room.

The real highlight of the episode, however, was Ford's interview with Vivian. My beloved Fightingale were back and in full force today, folks. Ford definitely feels like something's off with Vivian--though it's unclear if he's clocked what @katvantassel pointed out weeks ago about Vivian knowing that Fitzgerald was strangled before Fig or Ford could tell her. And her alibi is definitely sketchy--almost like something she specifically designed in hopes of making Ford uncomfortable or short-circuiting his brain. Also, the way Vivian and Mo say the details of that night out loud to each other sounds very much like they're concocting their story together then and there. It's interesting to note that Mo's corroboration explicitly covers midnight and afterwards, since we know thanks to Jasper Fox that Fitzgerald was killed in that exact time period. Could that even possibly be a coincidence? And more generally, are Mo and Vivian in cahoots? That would explain how Vivian prematurely knew about the asphyxiation, but would really bring into question why she needs Fig and Ford when there's a cop at her beck and call. Unless, of course, Barnaby is too powerful to be investigated by the police force, so she has to use our favorite detectives to frame or point the finger at her husband instead...

But then again, there's the Bixby angle to it all. If Mo really is trying to bring down Bixby, why would the bar's favorite performer be working with him? I suppose they could be two completely separated plot points. Or maybe Vivian's making a play to claim Bixby's as her own? After all, we do know she doesn't hold the highest esteem for Bixby's other acts... AHHHH. SO MANY THREADS!

Speaking of which, "Too Many Threads" was an absolute smooth bop, with cleverly meta lyrics, a tantalizingly pointed final verse (is Vivian taunting Ford?), and that perfect combination of Dylan Glatthorn's songwriting and Mary Kate Wiles' voice that we've come to know and love. Please release this song soon, Shipwrecked! I will buy it from you! (Bonus points for also including Clark's Cole Porter cover from last week!)

In other news, it turns out that Bixby, so helpful this episode in recapping all of the various mysteries and cases, was not in fact lying about his financial issues in order to cover up for the Brigade. His landlord, Old Bob, has been drastically raising the rent! Could this have anything to do with anything else, or is it just typically vampiric landlord shenanigans?

AND THAT CLIFFHANGER OF AN ENDING! Oh Persauds, this is the cruelest thing you've done yet. I can't wait to hear from Fitzy himself next episode!

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 09/11/2024 (The Weeknd & Anitta, Tyler the Creator)

Gracie Abrams snabs her first UK #1 this week with “That’s So True”, which just two weeks ago debuted at #19 and is now, thanks to special discounted sales, topping the chart, usurping Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song” after just one week. As for what’s below, we have a cooler week so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, references to sex, weapons, daddy issues and prostitution

Rundown

As always, we start the episode with our notable dropouts, those being songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to not only all of the Halloween tracks, which aren’t really worth listing – you know them all by now and they’ll be back last week next year – but also a set of duos: Liam Payne’s solo cuts, “For You” (Fifty Shades Freed) with Rita Ora and “Strip that Down” featuring Quavo, two tracks falling victim to arbitrary UK chart rules: “Noid” by Tyler, the Creator and “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, more on those later, and Coldplay having both “WE PRAY” with Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI and “feelslikeimfallinginlove” drop off this week. Other than that, we say our farewells to “Mantra” by JENNIE and “You & Me” by Disclosure featuring Eliza Doolittle: a lot of good songs making their exits this week, sadly.

Now, what’s making up for all that? We have a few gains and four strong new entries to pick through later in the episode. As for our returns… well, it’s a slow week in November, meaning we begin our annual thawing of Christmas music, starting with “Last Christmas” by Wham! at #61 and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey at #58. From this point on, these episodes may be shorter and forcedly more festive. We also see a spike in older tracks returning once again, amidst some newer tracks, with the list as follows: “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac at #75, “Belong Together” by Mark Ambor at #72, “Yellow” by Coldplay at #71, “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #70, “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls at #68, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers at #67, “NEW DROP” by Don Toliver at #64 and perhaps most notably, “labour” by indie-folk one-hit-wonder Paris Paloma at #62. It peaked at #29 in 2023 the same week Ed Sheeran’s “Eyes Closed” debuted at #1, and due in part to its feminist themes, as well as fitting a wave of more emotionally open folk-pop from women on the charts, it has had a resurgence that I can’t really complain about – I didn’t remember the song but on relisten, I still like it, perhaps more than I did back then. Turns out in my old review for it that I almost predicted a similar trend to what is actually happening on the charts right now with a larger focus on organic, 2010s-resembling indie and folk-pop having a larger moment. Maybe I don’t always bullshit my way through these episodes – and, hey, she still has the time to launch a second track on the charts, it’s an opportune time for her.

There are some noteworthy gains here too, many of which have also been here a while, such as “Riptide” by Vance Joy at #65, unfortunately, “Slow it Down” by Benson Boone at #60, “The Days” by Chrystal at #55, “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed at #54, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction at #53, “I Only Smoke When I Drink” by nimino at #52, “TOO COOL TO BE CARELESS” by PAWSA at #51, “Burning Down” by Alex Warren at #50, “Heavy is the Crown” by Linkin Park at #49, “Don’t Dream it’s Over” by Crowded House at #48, “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen at #46, “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” by Dasha at 42, “Close to You” by Gracie Abrams at #41 (she’s really having a moment right now and it’s beyond me as to why), then “Stargazing” by Myles Smith at #29, “The Emptinesss Machine” by Linkin Park at #28, “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims at #26, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey at #25 – I will say that sometimes it’s disheartening to see so many long-term hits rebound just as there should be a winter shake-up. Not that the newer tracks are any fit to replace them, with “Timeless” by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti at #21, sigh, but also “Bad Dreams” by Teddy Swims at #15 as he grabs a second top 10 with “The Door” at #8, a song that has grown on me a lot since my review, and finally, just on the cusp of that region is Billie Eilish’s fantastic “WILDFLOWER” at #11, which I think will be able to make it there in the next few weeks.

In terms of our top five, we already know about Gracie and Gigi’s folk-pop songs switching places at #1, but we also see Chappell Roan hit a new peak with “HOT TO GO!” at #5 and there’s a woman playing at least co-lead on every track here, as Abrams’ “I Love You, I’m Sorry” sticks to #4 and “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars is down to #3. I’m not sure if that’s a significant stat considering the political climate, but it’s something. You know what’s not… women?

New Entries

#69 – “One by One” – Central Cee

Produced by Cash Cobain

Okay, let’s get the needed waffle out of the way: this was initially promoted with the live performance on A COLORS SHOW, which genuinely has so little distinctly different from the official version that it may have just assumed that role instead. This beat samples Bryson Tiller’s 2015 track “For However Long”, which itself cribs from Jodeci’s “Alone” from back in 1993. Neither were released as singles, and both in eras where that actually mattered, so they never charted. What I most want to acknowledge in this is the top one slizzer, the Slizzy God, Cash Cobain, finally making his official dent on the top 75 after having influenced Jordan Adetunji’s “KEHLANI” earlier this year. As briefly discussed in the review for that, sexy drill, slizzy drill, whatever you wish to deem it, is a niche subgenre pioneered by Cash and surrounding artists like Chow Lee, PoWR Trav, wolfacejoeyy, etc. out of New York and taking a more melodic, R&B-sampling approach to that city’s burgeoning drill music. The lyrics are sexual, the vocals are dripping wet with meek Auto-Tune, and the beats have a certain constant underlying tension to them due to the drum patterns and mostly shoddy mixing. This year has been big for the genre thanks mostly to “KEHLANI” and, ahem, “Grippy”, and I’ve become somewhat of a scholar just because it’s a fun scene with often recognisable samples and funny lines or deliveries that creep up on you on multiple listens because they’re not immediately obvious or practically mumbled. I for one have been hypnotised by Cash Cobain’s debut solo album, PLAY CASH COBAIN, practically since release.

One thing Cench definitely isn’t is subtle or saying anything you won’t notice on first listen, given his crass delivery, but that perfectly fits with the shoddy bass master and chipmunk sample, and he leaves a similar amount of empty space, given the lack of ad-libs originating from the fact it was originally published as a live performance, so it functions perfectly fine as a sexy drill song, and is actually enhanced and made unique by Cench’s presence, as his lyrics actually have genuine attempts at multisyllabic rhymes and clever wordplay, unlike most slizzy drillers who rely on comically autopilot sex raps, not that this is a bad thing, but Cench is also just really funny here! He threatens those who are tweeting at him to log out of their account whilst also saying that he bought the PS4 and scented candles to his trap to help make it “homely” which is hilarious… though I guess Cench can’t even get a PS5. He seems to be slightly disdained, but not particularly, about not being able to watch Disney Channel but SPECIFICALLY The Suite Life of Zack & Cody – I question if that’s much of a loss – and that is all in the chorus. It does help that Cench’s flow, whilst mostly the same throughout, brings a typically British mouthful to a genre that is otherwise “less is more”, whilst still shouting out New York, as well as comparing himself to Jason Derulo and… Tyga, saying he had “young money”… I’m not sure if even he is aware of the other meaning there because I’m not sure he would have kept the lyric in otherwise. My favourite part of the whole song, which feels not like a mockery of the genre but him being very ridiculous over it, is when he starts the second verse by just listing the weapons he would own not only if he didn’t live in the UK, but in different time periods, because if he lived in the Stone Age, he would have had a spear. Great. Thanks, Cench. This is the kind of humour and unique production I found appealing before he started to succumb to the pressure of trends and virality, and I’m glad to see it back even if briefly. Let’s hope he locks in on the album.

#47 – “Casual” – Chappell Roan

Produced by Dan Nigro and Ryan Linvill

I’ve long been frustrated with not really connecting to Chappell Roan’s singles from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess that have charted, often for small nitpicks of reasons that have to do with the production or structure not functioning as well as they could to uphold the strong writing and a narrative connection I often resonated with or appreciated to some degree. I’m glad that this one has actually been the one to click really well. That could be found in the lighthearted conceit of it all that speaks to deeper issues: the comical framing of her hanging with a potential romantic partner in a more platonic way and asking at what point during their sexual and more wholesome intimacy is it still a casual and not long-term relationship? That all gathers, through a droopy 80s synth and gated drums, a wave of distrust and disappointment about her girlfriend’s lack of commitment, and as the descriptions of sex get more intense and vivid, as well as the mental health sacrifices Chappell’s making for her girlfriend’s family get revealed, the longing turns into a hateful frustration, a bitterness that arises in large part to the expectations Chappell has coming into a relationship that she acknowledges aren’t only unfounded but perhaps unrealistic, shaming herself for them in the second verse for giving into “dumb love”. It has a more reasonable and less unlikeable bitterness than “Good Luck, Babe!”, no production issues that deweight its impact like “Red Wine Supernova” and the writing actually progresses quite sensationally towards the outro, unlike the somewhat muddled “Pink Pony Club”, so I think aside from the dumb fun of “HOT TO GO!”, this is the first of hers to really stick with me, and definitely elevates above that song, even if the core conceit isn’t too dissimilar. If I had one issue, it’s that I get too connected with the narrative that the effective, disappointed self-blame hits too close and makes me want to hear much more about how this relationship actually ends. If that’s not effective songwriting, I don’t know what it is.

#33 – “Like Him” – Tyler, the Creator featuring Lola Young

Produced by Tyler, the Creator

Out of all songs from CHROMAKOPIA to swap out “Noid” with, I did not expect the late-album ballad, if anything I assumed we’d see one of the bangers, like “Rah Tah Tah” or especially “Sticky” with Sexyy Red, GloRilla and Lil Wayne. I’m not complaining though, because this is one of the best songs of the year, it’s heartbreaking and I cannot do it justice. It’s not all doom and gloom, of course, as Tyler inserts some comedy in it as always, whether it be the “huh?” he slides in from what sounds like a shoddily-EQ’d Baby Keem sample but I stand corrected if he actually went in the studio to record a few sounds, or the intro, wherein Tyler’s mother Bonita compares Tyler to his father, setting up the “Like Him” theme but also listing every point of comparison on his body before she gets cut off. That kind of bittersweet, slight ironic humour comes with the familial territory the song otherwise works in, with the track acting as a bit of a plea to Bonita: if he’s so like him, why doesn’t he know who he is, or where he is? Where is Tyler’s father in his life? It’s a question that T has been struggling with for much of his career with constant references and some full songs directed to his absence like “Answer”, which is particularly potent in retrospect considering this song is full of questions.

Starting with sombre pianos and a frail high-register performance from Tyler, who sings for all of the track, it eventually develops into a progressive soul track backed by harmonies from British singer Lola Young and a gorgeous soaring guitar in the back and the detailed soundscape you should expect from one of Tyler’s slow jams, that fuzzy synth coating in particular contrasting with the breathless gasps that appear all across the album. You also have the chorus accentuated with what sounds like Bonita herself chiming in with “Like what?”, acknowledging the role she played with the absence of Tyler’s father, which is expanded upon firstly in the second verse, wherein Tyler croons directly to her, with a great pause before he delves into how everything worked out and there may even be a sense of guilt there that Tyler is still on the hopeless chase for something he never had and won’t ever need – hence all the empty gaps left in the production. It resonates particularly hard for me, not that I’m in this specific situation, but as someone without a father figure in adulthood, I can relate to the idea of having something inexplicably missing there that you just kind of have to fill in for yourself. The most potent point is that incredible bridge, wherein Tyler stops the question at simply, “Do I look?”, asking his mother whether it’s worthwhile searching for either his father or that part of him that’s missing due to his absence, before a glance of piano and a vacant hole failingly filled in by Baby Keem pre-empting a wraparound of synths climaxing the song with utter defiance. In his third, improvised-sounding verse, spent mostly in the mix as backing vocals, he half-raps about his devotion to his mother but simultaneously, the insistence that he doesn’t “look like him”, because he’s everything HE wanted himself to be, and even with how abrupt Lola Young’s belting ends, you still get the time to chew on that dynamic… before that crushing outro, a home recording of his mother apologising for her involvement in keeping Tyler’s father out of his life, a plea from her for forgiveness over an off-tune bass note and cascading keys that really tugs at the heartstrings as someone who’s followed Tyler’s career and knows just how common and meaningful this topic is to him. Hell, it even wraps up the closure Tyler desperately seeks on the album, and leads into another banger in “Balloon” that, in many ways, is a middle finger to what a father figure could have brought into his life, that being restriction, tradition and hypermasculinity. Once again, it’s a brilliant song from a brilliant album, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get yet another switcheroo but I’d be delighted to have this one stick around. It is a wonder of a song.

#22 – “São Paulo” – The Weeknd and Anitta

Produced by The Weeknd, MIKE DEAN and Sean Solymar

Named after the Brazilian city that he premiered the track in, this new single with co-star Anitta, a massive singer in her own right in Latin America, is in some ways an embracing of Brazilian funk, which has been having a viral surge creeping up in the western world and having major influence on western artists now after years of it soundtracking the country’s cities. This song in particular is probably the widest western audience funk mandelão will ever get, and it’s not compromising either! It’s not as minimal as what you may hear from the genre, but it’s got the raw aggression of the rough cheap synths and the bass-heavy rumble manned by an oddly-mixed Anitta who, despite the genre being so in your face, feels about as far away from the party as possible even when you translate her stuttering, Auto-Tuned chanting to English and realise just how filthy it is. In fact, that’s my main problem with the song: as much as it embraces the genre, it seems way too distant as an overall piece from the actual fun, and sexiness, that this genre could be used for, with Abel on a murmuring autopilot once again – he sounds so sick of even opening his mouth this whole album cycle so far – and drenched in a reverb that echoes him out of the immediacy this production needs, with his sexual lyrics not prompting anything all too interesting either.

I like the chaotic sample brought in to an almost off-beat bridge but that all leads to what should be a promising second half… and ends up just trailing off. The Weeknd somehow ends up both robotic and out-of-breath – I’m not accusing it of being AI because it absolutely sounds human, but that’s also how I would describe what happens when you filter high-pitch vocals through AI and it gets all glitched out, losing breath, life and also clarity like Abel does here. I do enjoy the sly reference of the prostitute being “desensitised with money” and him needing to pay for his pleasure with work of his own, but outside of a burst into a drop that fails to really make much impact thanks to MIKE DEAN’s wankery souring the party, I’m unsure to what point any of the song’s second half serves that the first didn’t. It’s not the worst of his singles from this album so far, but it’s the one that tests your patience the most and honestly shows the most frustrating potential. Sadly, trying isn’t exactly on the agenda for the team behind this final album, and I hope the album gives me at least something to latch onto, unless, and I fear I might be correct, this is part of a narrative that involves losing interest in the “Weeknd” persona and shedding that baggage away. I suppose we’ll just have to see.

Conclusion

I suppose it has to get Worst of the Week, given that it’s the only dent on an otherwise above-average set of tracks this week, though Tyler, the Creator still blasts them all out of the water so he grabs Best of the Week easily with “Like Him” featuring Lola Young. As for the Honourable Mention, choose your gender, and as for what’s on the horizon… I don’t know, JLS? Who cares? Thank you for reading, rest in peace to Nipsey Hussle, and I’ll see you next week!

[youhaveforgottenmealready]

The Man Who Killed Batman

I admit to being a little dismayed by the view I was seeing. I'm not precious by any stretch of the imagination, and my Pa would have lectured me until my ear fell off if he had seen me pull a face at somebody else's housekeeping, but this place needed some real T.L.C.

There were some attractive planters to the right and the remains of what must have been pretty flowers in pots arranged haphazardly, but the overall view of the grounds was a dismal one. I skirted around an overturned and rusting wheelbarrow, stepped over an abandoned rake, and made my way to the front door. The sign on the door almost made me turn and leave. 

"No soliciting. No reporters or press. No autographs," I read aloud. The, "Huh," I added was because I'd never seen anything so unfriendly in my life.

Since I was a reporter — and even had a mint-condition copy of Detective Comics #50 in my bag I secretly hoped to have signed — I should probably have just turned tail and headed for the hills. But my Ma never raised a quitter. 

I knocked twice, nice and loud. Then I noticed the actual state-of-the-art speaker system to the right of the door and felt a little foolish. I pushed the shiny white button and waited patiently. After an awkward minute, a voice came through the speaker.

"What do you want?" said a man's voice. I had a strange image of a curmudgeon shaking his fist at me and telling me to get off his lawn. The voice didn't sound old, exactly, but it certainly wasn't warm and welcoming. 

"I'm Clark. Kent," I said. "I was hoping to speak to Bruce Wayne."

"Regarding?" The tone was ice-cold, and I felt like squirming like the time I'd had to interview a known drug lord. 

"An interview. About Detective Comics. About the death of Batman."

There was a long pause before the voice returned with a snarled, "Sign says 'No reporters.' Can't you read?"

I ducked my head at the insult. But nobody had ever accused me of being a coward, or particularly on the ball when it comes to knowing when to back down. "I can, but can you?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" the voice snapped.

I was pushing my luck here, I knew. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Well, it's just, if you could, you'd know how upset readers are. People have been writing letters to complain this whole week. Nobody understands the reason behind his sudden death. He's a beloved character, and this unexpected end to a popular story has upset fans. People want answers."

I may have overdone it because there was another long pause after my little speech that was just long enough I started to wonder if I'd been hung up on and left to stand on the stoop like a vacuum salesman. 

At last, "Been practicing that?" was the sardonic reply.

I was half relieved and half embarrassed. It was funny to get called out like that, but still feel some sense of victory because I hadn't failed yet.

"Just a bit. Please. I work for the Daily Planet. We're a good, fair, paper. And, well, more importantly, I'm a fan."

It was a risk — for all I knew he hated his fans since he put 'No autographs' on the sign same as 'No reporters' — but I would feel dishonest if I left without sharing this.

I reached into my satchel and extracted my copy of Detective Comics #50. Holding it still felt like magic after all those years of finally finding it. Each time I get to relive what it felt like to hunt it down, follow the trail, and finally unearth it at a garage sale — some dumb girl desperate to raise enough money for a trip to New York that she'd sold all her dad's comics after he died. 

I held it up before the camera. "This is my copy. It's my prized possession."

There was another long delay where I fought an anxious feeling that made me want to squirm.

Finally, the voice said, "I haven't seen a copy in years." There was something soft about the tone, almost nostalgic. Then the door buzzed and I heard the bolt slide back.

"Come in. Shoes off. Don't touch anything."

I exhaled and fought down the smile I felt curling up at the sides of my mouth. And then I stepped through the door.

*****

Started this a few years ago. This is what I put at the top of the doc:

For this story idea, Bruce is the creator of the Bat-Man comic book series. Then one day, without any explanation, he kills off the character. The death is quite final. 

Clark Kent is sent to get the story from Bruce — why did he kill off a very popular character?

[realblrr]

I don't think so if i will find anyone here who is learning or reading about stock market...but i am currently reading a book by Sir Peter Lynch and sharing some simple points i found out...

Here are some pointers from this section:

• Understand the nature of the companies you own and the specific reasons for

holding the stock. (“It is really going up!” doesn’t count.)

• By putting your stocks into categories you’ll have a better idea of what to

expect from them.

• Big companies have small moves, small companies have big moves.

• Consider the size of a company if you expect it to profit from a specific

product.

• Look for small companies that are already profitable and have proven that their

concept can be replicated.

• Be suspicious of companies with growth rates of 50 to 100 percent a year.

• Avoid hot stocks in hot industries.

• Distrust diversifications, which usually turn out to be diworseifications.

• Long shots almost never pay off.

• It’s better to miss the first move in a stock and wait to see if a company’s plans

are working out.

• People get incredibly valuable fundamental information from their jobs that

may not reach the professionals for months or even years.

• Separate all stock tips from the tipper, even if the tipper is very smart, very

rich, and his or her last tip went up.

• Some stock tips, especially from an expert in the field, may turn out to be

quite valuable. However, people in the paper industry normally give out tips on drug stocks, and people in the health care field never run out of tips on the

coming takeovers in the paper industry.

• Invest in simple companies that appear dull, mundane, out of favor, and

haven’t caught the fancy of Wall Street.

• Moderately fast growers (20 to 25 percent) in nongrowth industries are ideal

investments.

• Look for companies with niches.

• When purchasing depressed stocks in troubled companies, seek out the ones

with the superior financial positions and avoid the ones with loads of bank

debt.

• Companies that have no debt can’t go bankrupt.

• Managerial ability may be important, but it’s quite difficult to assess. Base your

purchases on the company’s prospects, not on the president’s resume or

speaking ability.

• A lot of money can be made when a troubled company turns around.

• Carefully consider the price-earnings ratio. If the stock is grossly overpriced,

even if everything else goes right, you won’t make any money.

• Find a story line to follow as a way of monitoring a company’s progress.

• Look for companies that consistently buy back their own shares.

• Study the dividend record of a company over the years and also how its

earnings have fared in past recessions.

• Look for companies with little or no institutional ownership.

• All else being equal, favor companies in which management has a significant

personal investment over companies run by people that benefit only from

their salaries.

• Insider buying is a positive sign, especially when several individuals are buying

at once.

• Devote at least an hour a week to investment research. Adding up your

dividends and figuring out your gains and losses doesn’t count.

• Be patient. Watched stock never boils.

• Buying stocks based on stated book value alone is dangerous and illusory. It’s

real value that counts.

• When in doubt, tune in later.

• Invest at least as much time and effort in choosing a new stock as you would in

choosing a new refrigerator.

#keeplearning

[cjgladback]

We have wings as of last week! And as of today they seem to work, after I had to reduce the range of the scotch yoke a bit to keep this fairly balanced shape without clipping through the horns. And while I was at it, we let the back legs do less of a high step and got that leggier shape I was wanting for them. I think all the major shapes are final now, just have to punch a few more holes for all the dowels since I decided to make it disassemble-worthy, and reduce the width of that yoke's lower slot now that it's on a smaller wheel.

Also, while the every-tenth-frame animation was rendering I did some real paper math (well, reusable paper at least) to check my assumptions that the wheel that's twice as tall will take twice as long to rotate. And almost said it wouldn't! Remember kids, math is dangerous and little mistakes can make you doubt relationships you intuited until you find the issue. Always let your calculator think for you and everything will be okay. (Or, y'know, your basic multiplication skills will erode until you make tons of mistakes like this. Pros and cons.)

Image descriptions got long again so they're under the cut, along with the gif of how our first proportions moved:

[ID: First image is a sequence of 3D renders of a work in progress mechanical dragon toy in orange, showing it gain a hinged tail, large head, and wings before the sizes of its wheels and the slots in a piece on its side adjust and a low frame rate animation begins, showing the way the wheel rotation will move the limbs. The front and back legs are articulated to "walk" with the wheel movement, the front leg on a small wheel causing it to move about 50% faster than the back. There is another set of wheels between the two, twice as large as the front set. This wheel raises the slotted piece with its rotation using a peg in the wheel through a horizontal slot while it's guided up two dowels through vertical slots. The wing rests on the top of this piece is pushed upward, rotating on its hinge in the middle of the back. Everything is mirrored on the far side of the dragon.

Second image is a page of handwritten algebra in green ink on an unlined six-ring notebook page. It starts with the equation for a circumference, C = 2 (pi) r, and asks the question "if (given three radius measurements) and we travel one centimeter, how much does each wheel rotate?" R sub 1 is 3cm, R sub 2 is 4.5cm, and R sub 3 is 6cm -- so R sub 3 is double R sub 1. Hand-multiplication follows, with the answer for C sub 1 now having a note with "oops" and the digit 4 written over the mistaken second decimal 0. A longer note reads, "if I'm dumb and just used the diameter for each instead of the radius...each should just be the result (times) 0.5." The results cut in half are written down. C sub 1 is missing the second decimal place it would have with the corrected numbers from the first multiplication, now with a note "wait!" pointing to it. "So rotation in degrees should be a ratio between travel & C." This note is expressed as an equation, delta over C is equal to X over 360 degrees. 360 delta degrees over C is equal to X. Given delta is equal to 1cm, there follow three solutions for X using each of the circumferences found, then X sub 3 is multiplied by two. Initially that result had a second decimal place of 1 where X sub 1 had 9. To the side is an non-equation X sub 1 is not equal to 2 X sub 3, with a sad face. Written vertically is the formula X is equal to 360 delta degrees over diameter pi; this is simplified to the approximation X is equal to 114.59156 times delta degrees over diameter. Changes in the diameter should be inversely proportional to changes in X. The first solution for X sub 1 is lined through with an arrow to one with the corrected circumference value, which matches 2 X sub 3. The earlier non-equation is crossed out as well; the equation X sub 1 is equal to X sub 3 is followed by an exclamation point and a smiley face.

End ID]

[ID: Animated gif of the dragon toy in a brown matcap, wings and legs moving with the wheels. The wheels are not spinning at a constant rate because their rotation mode hasn't been set to Axis Angle yet, the back "knee" joint raises to higher than the middle back, and the middle of the front arches of the wings travel into the middle of their respective sides' horn by the top of their rotation. End ID]

[beauty-and-passion]

Beau! Hello! How are you doing?

Hi! :D It's so nice to see you again! I really missed our conversations, can't wait for more of them to come soon! <3

This summer has been pretty busy for me. I studied almost every day - but it's summer, it's hot and my will to study was below zero, so I skipped a few days here and there, did other things, studied in the morning only and so on. Still no idea about the results, but when I get them, I will let you know :)

In the meantime, I still enjoyed my time by doing other stuff, like:

Cleaning

I love organizing things and since I finally had some time, I took the chance to:

Write a full inventory of the garage/storeroom where my family has been accumulating stuff for years

Buy a couple new storage racks for my apartment and move some furniture around. Still not over, but it's an improvement

Also, since my mother finally realized that yes, we have a lot of stuff indeed and we can rid of some of it, we went on a cleaning spree and cleaned:

The woodshed which had everything inside except for wood. There was even a sewing table!

The front garden of my house and that meant removing a shit ton of plants because my mother decided it was a great idea to plant them all together. She literally put two palm trees inside the vineyard. Those have been hard to tear down, but when me and my brother finally did it, the satisfaction was immense

We still have to move some stuff and properly clean the storeroom, but we have to wait for my uncle first: once he takes some furniture away, we will be free to keep going.

Keeping healthy

Since I went to the gastroenterologist and he told me to change my diet, I lost 7kg immediately and I feel WAY better. But it's still not enough: I plan to lose 7 more kilos, just to be in perfect health and to keep being healthy, even if I gain a couple kilos back in the future.

In order to do that, I kept (and try to keep) a schedule made of:

walking at least 6000 steps every day

spending at least one hour doing exercises and yoga 5 days a week

following the healthier diet suggested by the doctor, which is made of fresh fish and meat, fresh vegetables, almost no bread, gluten-free pasta, rice, couscous, no milk and no processed products. It was hard the first few days, now I feel bad when I don't follow this plan. I don't miss junk food and I still allow myself a treat once in a while. Also, since I am lazy, I cook once a day and double the amount, so I can eat for dinner and have a meal ready for the next day's lunch. This way, I'm always covered and I don't feel like resorting to junk/fast food (I also got rid of everything unhealthy, so it would be impossible anyway).

trying to get a better sleeping schedule: my alarm clock is set at 7:50 every day except for the weekends and I allow myself to get a 1-hour-long nap in the early afternoon. I also try to go to sleep around midnight, but still end up sleeping at 1am, so there's still room for improvement.

Writing

Studying was hard, but writing has always been great. And when I can have a schedule, it's even better :D

I started with two hours, every day. Right after dinner, when my mind was still fresh - and the weather gets cooler too. Then, around 10pm, I move on the couch and watch a few YouTube videos, before going to bed.

Some days, I didn't want to write a single line and had to force myself to write at least for one hour. But there were also days in which I wrote one or two hours more than planned. And now, I can write a few hours in the morning too and that means double productivity! :D Also, after sitting for so long in front of a screen, the exercise session in the late afternoon is even more enjoyable.

Small trips

I couldn't allow myself to take a longer breaks this summer. And that means I won't be able to visit Greece, so I took small trips to my uncle's farm and 1-day long trips to a few places.

In July, I visited Gaeta and Sperlonga (Italy). Those are two beautiful towns between Rome and Naples, with wonderful clean sea and beautiful sights. Sperlonga was especially cute, because the oldest part of the city is on a hill, so there are a ton of narrow streets, white-painted walls, corners decorated with seashells and painted tiles, tiny stairs and little plazas. It was nice.

In August, I visited Rovinj (Croatia): that's another little town, with a wonderful green sea. While we were there, we took a boat trip and visited the nearby fjord and wow, it was just like a postcard from a Norwegian fjord. And the trip was very enjoyable too: the boat owner offered us drinks and gave us interesting insights about what we were seeing.

I have two more trips planned for the next week: a water park tomorrow and a small cruise trip next week. Then, nothing else for now. Maybe will do something for Christmas and even New Year, but we'll see what offers we can find.

What about you?

What did you do these months? How did you spend your summer? How are you spending these last few days of August? And do you like to sleep as much as my cats like it?

[goldendiie]

My dream rn is to be to Sherdoc what you are to Sargemore

How did you get here

Like, other than the obvious, if you had to take your most comedic guess at how you got here, what would you say

i sold my soul to the devil so then i could have internet fame by writing sarge/fillmore fanfic. slash jay.

anyway, since i have a tendency to ramble, i’ll put a serious answer under the cut. i’m going to call this G’s Path to Accidental Internet Success.

1. i joined the fandom in 2016, when i was 14. as such, i bothered literally EVERYONE and tried to make as many friends as i could. i ended up with a pretty solid group of mutuals (most—if not all— of which are now deactivated. rip.) .

2. start asking for writing requests. the stuff i started out with was always in the 50-300 words ballpark (like drabbles). the main key here is to (a) have Exactly One Thing you write about (aka sargemore), and a handful of people that are willing to engage with you on that.

some cars fandom history for you: around this time (2018-ish), we had this anon “spam” (i hate to call them that, because we are now good friends) who would send many, many, many asks into my inbox about sarge and potatoes. i was able to turn some of their asks into legitimate oneshots, or take them a little farther than they likely expected. (see: wishes, as the sun sets, or anything else i posted in the summer of 2018). i guess what you can take away from this is that ANYTHING can be turned into writing if you are deranged enough.

it was also around this time that i bought the sargemore backstory comic off of ebay, and then spent an INCREDIBLE amount of time immersing myself in sixties history to write the third blink. i started posting that in june of 2019, and it went through the beginning of january of 2021 (covid fucked up my schedule). in that time, the fic gained a pretty decent following, a lot of whom usually still turns up for anything that i post on ao3.

so, number 3: if you put a lot of passion and time and effort into your work, people will notice! if you construct a good narrative arc for your characters, and do things that people aren’t expecting, they’ll stick around. a consistent posting schedule always helps too; think of it as tuning in to your favorite television show once a week, back in the old days of cable. i know i’m not one to talk about that (we all know i haven’t posted in like six months… yikes), but i’m telling you. it helps.

4. never shut the hell up about what you’re writing. i mean, seriously. you see the shit that i post about my AU. be obnoxious. have fun. start a discussion about your characters, or the narrative. in my case, i do this easily by creating a historical discussion through the use of sarge/fillmore as figures analogous to different political beliefs.

(actually. my ploy all along was to educate you guys. i can’t tell you how many comments i’ve gotten that are people saying “i wasn’t expecting to LEARN anything from a cars fanfic, but….”)

i think that’s all. i hate to say that a great deal of this is circumstantial, because i started in a height of the fandom in 2017, and the Potato Anon summer gave me a lot to work with, and i’ve been doing the same kind of thing for almost seven years now. but i think that you could still swing it. there’s enough people in the fandom that you could definitely attract the audience you want for your writing. i’ll be proud to be a part of it!

TLDR: have friends that want to engage with your writing, stay (mostly) consistent, and create a discussion about your “content.” and, most importantly— be passionate, be real, and HAVE FUN. none of this is worth it if you aren’t enjoying it.